The Origin of His LIght
by Subdainx
Summary: The organization did not exist in the eyes of the public. While others basked under the glory of light, the Akatsuki simply marched in defiance amongst the deep, void of shadows. What happens when Itachi Uchiha, a ghost just as everyone else in the organization, meets a new found source of light he simply can't get rid of? The result is questionable. Full details and summary inside
1. 1 - Arrival

_**Authors Note**: This fan fiction is a fairly new one, this is technically my second one. It's an Alternate Universe of the current show, and does not contain any real spoilers, as the characters might show some qualities not evident in the manga and anime. There is also upcoming content that makes the fanfic "M" rated. _

_P__lease do enjoy, and hopefully this will open new opportunities for me. I honestly can't create summaries even if my life depended on it. Please do remember, I'm new to writing things, productive reviews are always welcomed and appreciated. Follows are always great motivation as well._

**_Details: _**

_Alternate Universe (Modern Day, Real World)_

_Pairings: In Development_

_Type of Pairings (i.e Gay, Straight) : In Development_

_Summary: " The organization did not exist in the eyes of the public. While others basked under the glory of light, the Akatsuki simply marched in defiance amongst the deep, void of shadows. What happens when Itachi Uchiha, a ghost just as everyone else in the organization, meets a new found source of light he simply can't get rid of? The result is questionable, and may determine the fate of the twisted modern excuse of what we call a reality. Even the strongest castles have a weak point. Itachi Uchiha may not be as cold as he thought he was."_

_This story starts off slow to give a basic understanding of the characters and roles that they play, it will pick up eventually, that's a promise_

_As for the story, here it is:_

* * *

Today was unusual; a foreign sense of emotion had coursed through me as I walked alone, one that I have yet to experience in my considerably young life. It was an unsettling feeling, slowly crawling up my spine and making its way through my usually stable and collected composure. I wasn't known for expressions, let alone paranoia, however the situation I was in had left me confused, and I was willing to bet that I had a dumbfounded look on my usually stoic face.

The luggage I was carrying with me wasn't a problem at first, but had slowly been taking its toll on me. I could feel the strain it had put on my arms, it felt as if the strands deep inside of the muscles themselves were at a breaking point, and that it was made up of an elastic. The thoughts of calling some sort of transportation, like a taxi came to mind, however only to be dismissed as I walked along the pathways indicated on my map. The sound of smooth footsteps tunneled its way into my ears. It was better to take note of my surroundings before anything.

The air is crisp, and the wind is slowly picking up. No doubt that it would feel like shards of glass if I choose to stay longer, it's best to get a move on. I was forced to take a detour earlier, because of the lack of information I had received from my partner. Usually we were well prepared, ready to deploy at a moment's notice, with information varying from security footage, blueprints, serial numbers, dossiers, and a handful of other useful bits of information.

However, like I've mentioned previously, today was different; the feeling that was coursing through me was foreign. It hadn't helped that I received little to no information about my current objectives either, the only information I received during the flight here was where I was to sleep and have a temporary stay in.

An apartment was accommodated for me, much to my displeasure. Usually I would have been fine with where I was assigned, considering that I wasn't a picky person even when it came to delicate matters such as residence, whether it be temporary or permanent. However in this city, the district in which I was assigned to was rather questionable.

I've heard rumours of the so called "Nara" district, and it hadn't been particularly pleasant. It was the literal ghetto of Konohagakure, which is a fairly large region in Japan. There were many pleasant districts that were in Konohagakure, however they decided to put me in possibly one of the poorest and run down district they could think of, apparently it being "best for the mission's interests". If I only knew what my damn objective was, I wouldn't be thinking about all this.

I slowed my pace and looked to my sides again; I wasn't being tailed by anyone. It was always a bad habit ever since I can remember. It wasn't out of fear, but more so out of curiosity. I looked behind me to see that not a single soul looked at me in a strange way, not even a glimpse was thrown at me. I looked forward and continued walking, hands in my coat and face hidden behind my hair. I looked up to see a rather pleasant sight of reds and oranges bombarding my vision.

The sky was, dare I say, beautiful at this time. I've never been to this area before, so this was all foreign to me. I always dreamed of living in the countryside when I was just a child, it would have been wondrous to sleep under the night time sky, surrounded by brilliant stars and cool air. However I was in a city now and this would have to make due, at least only temporarily. The thought of those memories and wishes from my so called 'childhood' made me mentally shudder, better not to linger that far back in the past for now. I had been assigned to complete some sort of assignment, I guess I'll be more informed when I reach my temporary residence.

I was at a park now, I decided to take a rest because of the strain I had put on my shoulders due to the courtesy of my luggage. I was packing light, knowing that most of my necessities had already been provided by my organization, however I still brought some of the essentials in which I brought to every mission I was ever assigned. I took off my backpack and let it sit on the ground as I took a seat on one of the benches that surrounded a playground.

Not many people were here, considering that there were signs of a major storm incoming. That didn't worry me though, what's a little rain going to do to me? I opened up the zipper to find the objects I've packed beforehand. A black journal was staring back at me, a few writing utensils, an old fashioned pocket watch and a GPS as well. I didn't bother checking the second pocket because of the feeling of fatigue which had slowly but surely made its way out. I stretched my arms out and yawned while closing my eyes and let the wind hit my skin. As I opened my eyes once more I looked at the playground, a slide and some swing sets.

This was standard for any playground, but as I looked at the swing set I noticed something. A child was sitting on one of the swings. The child's head hung low as it leaned onto the support beam of the swings. I looked around to see if the child was being watched by an adult, or a guardian of some sort. After searching the beyond the swaying trees, I hadn't found traces of anyone at all. This had my interests piqued for a short moment; however I disregarded it once I heard my phone vibrate within my coat. I took out my phone to see _"Deidara is expecting you Itachi, hurry up" _showing on the screen. Not bothering to text back, I zipped up my bag and took all of my belongings off the concrete that lay before me. As I looked up once again, I noticed that the child was looking at me now. The first thing I had noticed was his dark blonde hair which had swayed without any constraint all over his head.

His eyes where a shade of blue from what I could tell, and he had looked … fearful. He stopped rocking from side to side all the while looking at me, or rather my feet in an anticipating manner. As if I was about to hit him or lunge at him like some sort of predator or something, he looked like a startled deer which had an antisocial attitude, if I were to put it in brutal honesty. His body language showed how fragile he was, from the way he unconfidently swayed left and right, and simply by the way his shoulders where shaking. Raw fear had now consumed him and he was about to get off of his seat, seemingly about to run away, until I turned around and left. It was obvious that child, if not teen, was fearful of me, and he had a right to be, with what I was wearing I wasn't exactly radiating a "hug me" demeanour. As I walk off, I catch a small sigh of relief from behind me, as well as some chains rattling.

It seemed as if the kid is going to stay at the park. I look above, beyond the heavens to see a collection of fearsome looking clouds scattering the sky. What was red and orange now looked dark and depressing, I choose not to look back and head to my destination, I've already wasted enough time.


	2. 2 - Beyond the Eyes

"Itachi you're late" A deep but laid back voice stated, Itachi immediately knew the owner of that voice without as much a second thought. Standing before him, was a man wearing slightly different clothing from himself, which was however, within the same color scheme that they were all too familiar with.

The man was wearing a formal suit, one that fit perfectly over his tall, almost feminine body. Spots of the infamous red that was the backbone of their organization was in plain sight. Not too much red, just in the right places, the pockets, the stitching, and the tie. He was a man of fashion after all, someone with 'artistic vision', he would say. The man had a blonde pony tail type of hairstyle which was bizarre to Itachi ever since they met, on their first assignment together. Even to this day Itachi never really understood where the hairstyle originated from, if it was an official trend in some unknown country, or if Deidara created it entirely on his own. What would be a good word to describe Deidara even? Eccentric? Itachi chuckled mentally, that was surely an option.

The man was sitting on the edge of what seemed to be a maple wood desk, which was fitted with modern technology and other office supplies. Itachi looked around his new residence to find that the home was filled with décor and other items that would be present in a regularly used home, except everything was brand new as if it was literally just taken out of the packaging.

"This will be your home 'tachi, so tried making it comfy for you, y'know if you ever get homesick or something sensitive like that" the man said with a smirk when seeing Itachi's unintentional semi pout. "Thank you Deidara, it is much appreciated" Itachi replied as he furrowed his eyebrows and started unpacking. "Yeah, well I'ma head off soon, see what's happening in this side of town, y'want anything? Take out?" Deidara asked.

"No it is fine, thank you" Itachi simply stated, continuing the process of unpacking, which wasn't a hard task considering how lightly he packed. "Well. see you later then, I'll send you news and stuff on your phone as usual, just follow that protocol shit and you'll be pretty much fine" Deidara said as he patted Itachi's back and left the apartment. Itachi then started unpacking his clothes when the door had opened again to see Deidara looking at him questionably.

"What?" he asks simply as Deidara continued giving him a questionable look. "You really are losing it aren't you tachi" Deidara said simply. Itachi was getting a bit aggravated at this point, "what do you mean?" Itachi asked again. "You'll figure it out soon enough, it might be a good idea to go to the park and unwind a bit, you're really out of it" and with that, Deidara left. Itachi just ignored him for the time being, he didn't want to be playing mind games with his 'business' partner right now.

"So this is my new residence" Itachi thought to himself, wandering around the surprisingly long hallways, looking for a bathroom. Everything was in order and stationed normally, and more importantly, everything was functional, not that he expected anything less. It would have been ridiculous to have something as simple as a washing machine just be there for appearance and not actually work, however with the rumours he heard about this neighbourhood, anything was possible he supposed. It was always a great perk to have everything clean and hygienic as well, which it was, even above normal standard, which was fortunate for Itachi. They really did plan on carrying out this mission for a long period of time to spend so much money and time renovating a building like this just for his sake, whatever the mission was to begin with.

The walls where a pleasant colour, everything had a neutral palette, never daring to go too wild, but not too bland either, delicately balancing in that safe side between both. The walls contained olive green, some beige here and there. The apartment looked elegant almost. He looked out the window to see that he had a perfect view of the way he just came, meaning Deidara had seen him seemingly slack off during his little rest at the park just a few moments ago.

Speaking of which, Itachi looked further into the park to confirm his suspicions. The boy he had encountered earlier was still there, and the rain had just begun to pour relentlessly along the horizon. The air was now crisp; the sky had turned dark, and was now only illuminated by the moon shining through the clouds, along the small array of lights that were scattered around this neighbourhood which had given the neighborhood a brilliant shine.

Besides the artificial light, the area seemed almost surreal during the night, the moon had given everything a brilliant silver blanket, and had a beautiful monochrome feel off in the distance. Itachi opened the window and closed his eyes to feel the relentless rain hitting his face, it was freezing and would surely give him a cold in the morning if he stayed like this, but he didn't pay mind to those small details. He enjoyed the bitterness the rain was offering when it was hitting his face, it was soothing as well. He opened his eyes slowly again and saw the sight before him. The park wasn't that far off, but the head of blonde hair was still there, illuminated by a lone lamp barely flickering in this relentless weather, with the child sitting alone, as if nothing was phasing him.

There it was again, that feeling. What the hell was it? Itachi touched his throat gingerly to feel the lump forming. He remembered this feeling from long before, the feeling of sadness, a time where tears where meant to be shed. He was different now though, he wasn't allowed to cry. He was Itachi Uchiha after all. He went to the bathroom which he had conveniently found just now and looked around. First at what was in the room. Shampoos, soaps, conditioners, sponges, all of the normal bathroom necessities were presented to him. He then looked at himself.

Onyx black eyes greeted him. The man before him was tall, feminine. His hair wasn't that long, but it was kept messy almost like bedhead, which contrasted his attitude and personality heavily. His pale porcelain skin was almost glowing, his flawless face staring back at him. Itachi sighed and stepped out of the bathroom, he looked back at the window from a distance, he didn't even feel the need to check anymore, he knew that child would still be there.

Itachi stepped outside of his apartment and locked the door before he made his way downstairs. Itachi opened the main door to see the sky was now pitch-black, and that most of the moon had been covered by clouds. The only form of light he was receiving was from the lampposts which where sparingly scattered along the roads. He slowly made his short walk towards the park, noticing that most of the lights that were unlit before, was turning on as he walked by anyways.

The rain was hitting his face at full force now and it was a heavy storm, showing no signs of mercy. Itachi glanced at his wristwatch which he forgot he was wearing earlier and looked at the time. It's been four hours since he arrived In his apartment, how had he lost track of time so quickly? Itachi then wondered about the blonde haired child. He's been sitting out in the rain for four hours, seemingly not moving a single muscle, at least from itachi's perspective.

Itachi reached the pathway of the park, and noticed that the blonde haired male was still in his previous spot, just as Itachi saw him earlier today. Right now however, Itachi noticed the kid was shivering, quite violently at that while holding a familiar looking object. Wait, wasn't that his? Did he just leave it here carelessly? Suddenly what Deidara said made a little sense to him, he must have noticed that he left his bag at the park, but then itachi wondered if Deidara noticed the child who was carrying it.

Why didn't the kid just leave the park? He's been almost transfixed like that for over four hours now. Itachi slowly started walking towards to boy, instinctively taking off his jacket while doing so without as much as a second thought. The boy saw him walking towards him, he suddenly had the look of fear written on his face, even under the depths of the shadows the night had to offer. Itachi kept walking until he was a mere few feet away from the child.

The artificial sand on the ground was cold and wet, making imprints on the ground. Without much thought Itachi held his coat in the air. A strong, deafening silence proceeded after that. Moments passed, then minutes. Itachi looked up at the boy who had a dumbfounded look on his face, while still having that fear in his eyes. The rain was now hitting Itachi's tight black shirt, getting drenched in the process, his own hair hanging loosely but somehow managing to keep that wild and lazy look, even in the midst of an onslaught of rainwater. Itachi guessed the age of the boy was around the fourteen and fifteen, although it was merely a guess. "Take it" Itachi said softly, his mind working against him; he hadn't planned on talking yet.

A thick silence filled the air for a second time. "W-why?" a mere whisper of a voice asked, fear consuming more than half of the boy's tone. The voice had a fearful tinge to it, albeit deep. That feeling had increased within Itachi, and had multiplied two fold. Itachi felt an ache in his heart, something he wasn't used to. "Because you've been sitting here for the past four hours, and have the risk of getting incredibly sick" Itachi replied professionally, completed with a monotone voice and everything. No matter how hard Itachi tried a comforting approach; he simply wasn't able to do it. That was Itachi for you.

The boy shyly stood up, and slowly reached for the Jacket. Once the boy had a gentle grasp of it, Itachi had let go, and the jacket dropped in the sand. The boy was shocked, and Itachi was confused. "Why didn't you grab onto it?" Itachi asked curious. The boy let out a silence as his response until he finally had the will power to say his sentence. "I-I thought you w-were going to snatch it away from me" said the boy, eyes becoming glossy, even in dark setting, Itachi could tell by his phenomenal observational skills that the boy was tearing up. "Now why would I do that?" Itachi asked in a smooth voice. "T-that's what everyone else does a-anywa-"the boy managed to say before he was interrupted by a heavy cough that sounded dangerous in Itachi's opinion. "We need to get you home" Itachi said, not really knowing why he was doing what he was doing.

The boy remained silent again as his answer. "I-I'll go by myself" the boys said weakly. A few moments passed, as the boy put Itachi's bag down in front of him, a safe distance away, and began to walk the opposite direction. "No. Either I'm coming with you to wherever it was you were planning going to, or you're coming with me" Itachi replied, new found source of energy and a new sense sternness was evident in his voice. The silence had one again struck upon them, slowly a theory had made its way into Itachi's head. "Just come with me" Itachi said in a surprisingly comfortable manner. Silently the boy began walking behind Itachi.

The walk seemed considerably longer in Itachi's eyes, not that he was complaining. The boy that was walking beside him was still fearful, it was still in his eyes. Itachi never truly realized the depth of them. Eyes that weren't meant to be fit onto a child, especially not one such as himself. The child's eyes were experienced, the sheer depth of them, telling stories within itself. They weren't childish by any means, they were matured, as if he's seen much more than what he's willing to admit. As they walk slowly, Itachi managed to notice his eyes as the light from the standing lamps slowly crept into the picture, only to fade out, and back again to form this cycle of illumination as they walk and pass many lampposts. The boy was currently wearing Itachi's coat, huddled into the article of clothing that wasn't to different when it came to size. The boy was in no means short though, he was a 5'7 from what Itachi could determine, again not a certainty, but a mere guess. "So why were you holding my bag back there? Itachi asked without much thought, monotone as always, but still eerily comforting. "I was waiting for you to come back and get it" the boy said with a sad expression.

"That's foolish" Itachi replied almost instantly, making the child stop abruptly and look into Itachi's eyes. "You waited four hours for me then, that's foolish in itself. I haven't even considered the thunderstorm that's happening either". Itachi said with a bit of pent up frustration, surprising himself. "I-it wasn't like i-i had a-anywhere else to go" the child said as he slowly began catching up with Itachi, who had started walking in the middle of his sentence. "So my assumptions were correct" Itachi said as he looked into the night time sky, only to see the obsidian color as far as the eye can see.

"What were your assumptions" the child asked, with a tone that shocked Itachi, not that he showed it. It was like the male was a completely different person now. Itachi stopped walking and turned around to see something in the boys eyes, the light illuminating from the lamp giving the boy much more depth in the shockingly blue color, and having a rather interesting effect on him. What was that in his eyes? Confidence? Determination? Will?

"Well what did you assume!" the child demanded, all traces of fear completely evaporating into the night time sky. "Did you just think I was homeless? That I'm a deadbeat? That I chose to be like this? Well your assumption is wrong!" the child said with a voice full of passion and power. The child turned away, but managed to take off the coat while doing so, and threw it over to Itachi, who managed to catch it with impressive reflexes. The child walked down the road, but only to stop as he heard Itachi's voice. "... I assumed that you're an orphan" Itachi said softly.

The kid turned around, eye wide from shock, as the rain hitting his head made his hair flow carelessly with the wind. "how did you.." the kid's voice lost its power almost immediately. "an orphan planning on turning this world around with sheer dedication and willpower" Itachi continued, now fully turned to the male. "It's written in your eyes, your dedication is clear. " Itachi said as he walked towards the kid. The blonde haired male made no move to react, because he really couldn't. The shock, of the situation was overbearing.

Nobody took the time to actually analyze him, it was always "dead last" or "demon spawn" whenever it came to people looking at him. And then there comes this guy, manages to completely read what he's desperately been trying to display all his life, without as much as a second glance.

Itachi was now closing in on him, with an emotionless face. Fear started to build up in the child's chest. His heart was now beating twice as fast as it was before, he needed to run. Who knows who this guy was, or what he was about to do to him. His legs however, disobeyed. They lay there , firmly planted onto cold, hard cement refusing to budge, even though the Childs mind was screaming at its limits begging for them to move. Just as the teen managed to grasp the situation, and lose the paralysis within his legs, it was already too late. Itachi put his hand out of his pockets, and was about to hit the kids face.

_Another mistake, I shouldn't have trusted him_. The child thought, as he prepared for what was to come. Itachi simply poked the child's forehead with two of his fingers as he casually had his free hand in his pockets looking off into the distance. The child slowly opened his eyes to see a focused hand within his view, and an unfocused Itachi. He slowly made his eyes focus on Itachi to see that he had, a smirk? "what was that for?!" the boy asked angrily. "You seemed as if you were about to pass out due to fear" Itachi replied simply, smirk not leaving his face.

The boy just grumbled, but a smile was tugging his lips. God, how long has it been since he smiled? Years now most likely. Ironically with a stranger no less. "You never told me your name, pipsqueak" Itachi said calmly. "My name Is Naruto, what ab- I'M NOT A PIPSQUEAK!, I'M LIKE ALMOST THE SAME HEIGHT" Naruto yelled as he just comprehended what Itachi said. "Well my name is Itachi, a pleasure meeting you Naruto" Itachi said with a genuine smile.

"How old are you even" Naruto asked out of genuine curiosity. "It's impolite to ask people that are older than you for their age" Itachi said with a smile. "but if you must know, I'm 21." Itachi said casually. "Whoa that's not too far from me then! I thought you were going to be a pedophile for a sec!" Naruto replied shamelessly with a grin.

"Yet you still followed me?" Itachi asked with a smirk. Naruto's face now had a red tint to it. "N-NO THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT" Naruto yelled. "Shhhh, you're going to wake up everyone here" Itachi said casually. "hmph, whatever. I'm 16 by the way". Naruto said casually. This made Itachi stop in his tracks and look at Naruto once more. At the park he seemed as if he was only a child at first glance, and now he actually did look a bit older, but not old enough. Maybe it was because of his thin frame, and undeveloped shoulders. Itachi should have figured having a voice like that meant the kid was far into his puberty stage, but not quite completed yet. "So you're a teenager following a supposed pedophile to get a place and leisurely converse" Itachi said casually, dodging the hits that Naruto was attempting to give him, all the while having a grin occupying both of their faces. "W-wait, what?" Naruto asked when he finally understood what Itachi meant.

"We're gonna hang out?" Naruto asked. "Well it's either you stay at a nice comfortable place, with heating and everything, or we both end up talking to each other at the drenched park, so choose". Itachi said, not really caring how awkward that statement was. "Doesn't that seem pedophilish?" Naruto asked with a grin. "Oh, so you do want to get molested by me" Itachi said with a smile. "N-NO, I mean like, we just met, why are you being so kind and talkative and shit, you don't seem like the guy to hang out, or 'converse' as you called it".

"In truth, I don't know. We're similar, but not exactly the same. And even with that, it was never an excuse to help someone out, a brat in distress no less." Itachi said casually. "Am I supposed to be all happy and shit because of that?" Naruto asked with a grin. "hn" was the response Itachi grunted out. "Well then, I'm honoured to be under the mighty Itachi ..." Naruto trailed off. "Uchiha" Itachi said with a smirk. "Well I have a feeling this friendship is going to be worthwhile" Naruto said with a grin. The child really did manage to switch personas really quickly, from helpless child to a strong headed brat. "Hn" was the grunt Itachi gave, smile not leaving his face.


	3. 3 - Meeting Another Shadow

_Crimson flames flickered dangerously around him, the sheer heat and intensity enough to make any mere man quake in terror, in fear, and in absolute helplessness. There he was, bounded by chains made from a foreign metal he had never encountered; god knows where it came from. He didn't bother struggling, but he knew well that escape was impossible, that this torture he had to endure was inevitable. He slowly looked up with damaged eyes, barely able to handle the light surrounding him, it was blinding. It was as if the fire was breathing, the ground was revolving, and the skies where collapsing._

_In his nearly blind state, he managed to distinguish the familiar emblem that he had respected so heavily, what he had held so dear, slowly losing the battle with the crimson flames that had haunted him for so long. It engulfed in flames just moments after. He was weak, his muscles were sore, the angle at which he was repelled at was inhumane, his arms felt like they were about to be pulled off by force. Everything he had fought for, everything that he had believed in, everything was now gone, and all that remained were ashes, potent ashes, and with those ashes would come a new order. The familiar sound of sizzling made its way through his nearly deaf ears, and before he could truly register what was about to happen, the agonizing pain coursed through his body, skin blistering against the sheer heat. He barely managed to stay silent during this; he would not let his voice be heard by the ones who didn't deserve to hear it. He simply wouldn't give them the pleasure. The dark voice boomed from behind his damaged shoulders. He could make out who it was simply by the octave of the voice, as well as the coldness. It was funny, in this blistering heat that had made his skin melt in such grotesque ways; he still managed to receive chills off of a mere voice. _

"_Good, but you almost made my day, let's run by this again shall we, Itachi?" the voice barely whispered over his ear, sending painful jolts along his body. After all of this, he still did not fear him, nor did he fear his torturer's power. The only thing that he had feared for was what direction he would head afterwards. Death? No, Itachi embraced death with open arms; he didn't fear it in the slightest. No, it was how useful his skills would be afterwards. Sometimes he cursed himself for being such a prodigy. _

"_Hn" Itachi softly responded, just as cold as his captor. "Still ice cold, aren't you Uchiha?" the man said. The darkness that slowly engulfed Itachi's senses was inevitable; however he fought to keep conscience. "You and I are the same, no matter how we look at it" Itachi managed to gasp out. The sound of sizzling hit his ears once more as he slowly closed his eyes and formed a smile. A sad, tired, and genuine smile acquainted the young face of Itachi Uchiha. _

Itachi awoke softly to a pair of crystal blue eyes looking at him questionably. Not really knowing how to respond to his sudden violation of space, he simply shoved the blonde haired teen off the edge of the bed, sending him flying. After hearing a weak yelp of pain, Itachi lifted his head once again to see the blonde haired teen glaring at him. "What the hell was that for?" Naruto managed to growl out while rubbing his backside. "I don't particularly fancy waking up to two beady eyes in the morning" he answered calmly, only for Naruto to blush a bit. "Well you were whimpering in your sleep, so I decided to do something about it" Naruto replied with a smirk, only for it to falter after Itachi gave him a blank, cold look. Without saying anything, Itachi swiftly arose from the bed and headed down the corridor of the apartment, with a confused Naruto on his trail. "Why are you so sensitive?" Itachi stopped midway and almost faltered in his steps. Without saying anything else, Itachi quickly went into the bathroom before Naruto could follow, and locked the door. "ACTING LIKE A SCHOOLGIRL WILL ONLY PROVE MY POINT" Naruto managed to yell out through the wooden door. Itachi just sighed and stared at the mirror.

He was _not_ sensitive. After a quick examination in the mirror, he concluded that his raven hair was messier than before, and the stress marks on his face seemed more evident, and more defined. His eyes were irritating him, and the only scar located on his body was stinging, quite badly at that. He slowly moved his hand towards his back, and slipped his hand under soft fabric that made up his shirt. The rough edges of a swollen scar were what he felt. He gently grazed his fingers along the trail of the scar, taking note of every detail, and every crevice of the intricate burn. He had memorized it all before, but he wanted to make sure it was some type of dream, that one day it'll disappear; however that day was yet to come.

The raven haired male had his thoughts interrupted by a muffled voice outside of the bathroom door. "It's been like half an hour man, was it something I said?" Naruto managed to say. Itachi looked at his wristwatch in disbelief, half an hour had passed? Itachi sighed once again and turned on the tap, the ice cold water felt good against his warm, smooth and flawless hands. After examining himself further, he wanted to take a quick shower, but was interrupted by the door being opened and hitting his shoulder blade. He glared at Naruto who had a grin plastered on his face. "I locked the door how did you get in?" Itachi demanded. Naruto simply pointed at the lock itself, and Itachi cursed his luck. The lock was able to be undone by simply putting a flat screwdriver or even fingernail inside the gap and turning it. This meant all of the other locks in the apartment had this mechanism, excluding the front door of course. Foolish, he was in a world class elite organization, but security didn't seem to be a concern. Hell a toddler could even pry opens the lock if it felt the need to.

"You're a handful you know that?" Itachi grunted out as he began to wash his face yet again, but this time making room for the blonde haired teen. "Why are you even here again" Itachi asked absentmindedly, not really putting in the effort to remember last night's events. Naruto faked a look of hurt "Itachi san, you invited me for dinner, but then you fell asleep remember?" Itachi looked thoughtful for a second, and remembered; indeed that he was too tired to deal with Naruto the other night, so he ended up sleeping in while he was eating in the kitchen. Why did he let his guard down for this boy? This was seriously one of the biggest violations in protocol history. What if he assassinated the raven haired man? What if he stole important documents? What if -

Itachi was shoved to the side by a surprisingly strong force, breaking his thought process. Naruto beamed a bright, genuine grin at Itachi while he himself started washing his own face. Then again, this kid was a moron, he didn't need to worry. But still, Itachi was left confused as to why he naturally felt warm towards the brat. "Making yourself at home I see' Itachi managed to say with a smirk. "Yeup, better make the best of it until I leave I suppose" Naruto said softly, his grin seemed to falter, which Itachi didn't fail to notice. Itachi stood beside Naruto and started washing his own face.

"Oh? And where do you plan on going?" Itachi asked while he started splashing the ice cold water on his face. "Dunno yet, I might head back to the orphanage if there's nothing else to do" Naruto managed to say before Itachi's look made him stop what he was doing. "What?" Naruto asked. "You can freely leave the orphanage as you wish? Aren't there any rules or guidelines you're expected to follow?" Itachi asked.

"Pfft, a shithole like that doesn't need any rules or guidelines" was the response Naruto gave. Itachi looked at him questionably. "What's it like in there? I heard this district in itself is a desolate, rundown excuse of a neighborhood, I can't even imagine how an orphanage would look" Itachi said truthfully, not really caring if his statement sounded rude, hell he let this brat into his house, the least he could do is be honest with him. "You should come see for yourself, it's a shithole but its home I suppose" the blonde haired teen replied. "Seeing that I don't have anything else to do, I suppose touring the neighborhood would be a good course of action" Itachi said with a flat tone. "You should lighten up man, you're not going to have any fun in this place acting like that" Naruto teased playfully

* * *

"What are we doing here exactly" Itachi asked himself more than he asked Naruto. "You wanted to see where I live didn't you" Naruto said, grin never leaving his face. "I'm regretting this decision" Itachi softly sighed. This was going to be a long tour. The building itself was a rundown excuse of a home, there were deep cracks and scars along the walls, making it look more like a historical monument from World War II rather than a living arrangement. The door was barely hanging on its hinges, with no locks in sight.

"Naruto I'm not sure if this is exactly up to living standard" Itachi said in an aggravated tone. "You sound scared Itachi, go on, you first" Naruto beamed with a confident smirk. Itachi only scoffed at his childish demeanor, "If you insist" Itachi managed to say. Both males started walking along the sidewalk, getting a better view of the building as a whole.

There was a small porch like area which required going up a flight of concrete steps, which were surprisingly clean, along with the porch itself. "The porch was a recent edition, we got the money from somewhere, not exactly sure where, but we ended up renovating the place, little as it may seem" Naruto said, seemingly reading Itachi's mind.

Step after step, both of them reached the front door. The door itself was badly colored, an artificial looking wooden brown tone, the paintjob seemed as if it was done by a four year old. There were uneven and sloppy streaks of brown paint. "The paint was done by some of the orphanage kids in case you're wondering" Itachi only looked at Naruto wondering if he had some sort of – "And no, I'm not a mind reader, you're just staring at the door like it's the most vile thing in your life since bacteria" Naruto said. Ahh, well that explains it.

Itachi opened the door and was about to step inside until he was tackled by a large feral looking animal. Itachi eyes immediately identified the animal as a large black German Sheppard, a more feral looking sub breed it seemed. Itachi stationed his hands on the jaw line of the dog, and the other hand positioned behind the dogs head, giving him easy leverage to snap it's neck. He was about to end the animals life there and then out of second nature, until he heard Naruto's voice. "Down girl!" Naruto managed to laugh out as he started petting the animal. Itachi then realized that the dog was not attacking him, but actually welcoming him in an aggressive manner. _Much like Naruto_, Itachi thought.

"He seems to like you Itachi" Naruto stated, oblivious to Itachi's killer intent just mere moments ago. "Y-yes, well get him off of me" Itachi managed to croak out. This only made the animal whimper and growl at him. "Correction Itachi San, it's a girl" Naruto said as he crouched next to Itachi with a finger pointed in the air with his eyes closed. "Fine, get _her_ off of me" Itachi managed to growl out, ferocity matching the dogs.

Wordlessly, the dog got off of Itachi. "Seems like I finally found something intelligent around here" Itachi said, smirking at Naruto's deadpanned expression. "Yeah yeah laugh it up asshole" Naruto managed to growl out as he held the door open for Itachi. As Itachi dusted his coat off, he was looking around the porch. Since the porch itself was above ground level, Itachi managed to have a good view of his surroundings. It was then that Itachi noticed a suspicious duo of black vehicles parked close to their location.

After a few seconds of them being idle, they seemed to notice Itachi's glance. That was when the vehicles silently backed up to the point where Itachi's field of view limited him. "Wait inside Naruto." Itachi said barely above hearing level. Before Naruto could reply, Itachi vaulted over the railing and landed swiftly to ground level. "We paid for stairs for a reason" was what Itachi heard behind him.

He ignored Naruto's voice, and held a fist up in the air, signaling Naruto to stop in his tracks. "What are we, in the navy seals now?" Naruto whispered as he disregarded Itachi's warnings. "Stay silent, and stay idle. Stay here before you get yourself killed" Itachi said without much thought. "Wait wha-"

"Stay. Here." Itachi growled out. This was when Naruto noticed the change in Itachi's eyes. They were no longer onyx black; they were a depthless blood red. Three commas like shapes in each eye. Naruto managed to gasp out silently, and slowly back up until he fell on his rear, still in a state of shock and awe. Itachi, not really understanding why, swiftly moved along the fences and trees, effectively hiding his position. Not seeing the black vehicles yet, he continued down the road, making sure to dart along the various vehicles and trees to protect his stealthy approach.

After what seemed to be a block or so, Itachi finally found the two black cars. Both had tinted windows, and lacked license plates. Itachi noticed that they were two Rolls Royce Phantoms, definitely out of place in this neighborhood. The overly expensive cars were equipped with the standard, suicide doors included. Before Itachi could analyze further, the suicide doors from the first car opened, revealing a familiar figure.

"Come out Itachi, and hurry up will you" a feminine figure with blonde hair yelled out seemingly nowhere. The figure was looking off at the sky, both hands in pockets. Itachi sighed and started walking down towards the vehicles. The sun setting in the horizon really left a beautiful mark. The houses along the bathed under the orange glow, "Deidara what the hell" Itachi grunted out uncharacteristically. Deidara only smirked. "Like the set up?" Deidara asked as he pointed at the two luxury cars.

"Charming" Itachi said silently, "but what is this for" Itachi added. "Nothing really, I honestly couldn't tell you" Deidara said. Itachi looked at him with a baffled look. "What? I'm serious, nothing came in in terms of our mission, it's like this is a vacation or something, but then again it's only been like a day or two, so we should wait a bit more" Deidara said. "And this?" Itachi asked while looking at the cars. "Just thought it'd be fun to spend resources on stalking you" Deidara said with a grin, a little bit too much like Naruto.

"Interesting kid you got there" Deidara said as he lifted his head to signal Itachi, and pulled out a cigarette. Itachi looked behind him to see a mess of blonde hair sticking out of some bushes off in the distance. Itachi deadpanned as Deidara laughed. "Naruto come out" Itachi yelled out. Naruto slowly got out of the bushes and walked towards Itachi, wary of the unfamiliar blonde man. "This is Uzumaki, Naruto" Itachi said as he beckoned Naruto towards Deidara. "Nice to meet you kid" Deidara said as he punched the teen on the shoulder. Naruto returned the gesture, only for Deidara to hit back once again. After exchanging blows, they both ended up laughing, only for Itachi to scoff at their childish antics.

"You don't usually open up to strangers Deidara, what's different about this child?" Itachi asked. "Well, I saw your little exchange at the park, with you forgetting your bags and what not, taking it that the kid didn't run off with your shit, he's alright in my books" Deidara said as he started lighting the cigarette in his hand. "Deidara you don't smoke" Itachi said with a flat look on his face.

"You're right, but at your six, it's a different story." Deidara stated, as he put the cigarette in his mouth, only to cough violently afterwards. Itachi looked behind him to see a small group of females walking out from what seemed to be a community center. Itachi's phone started vibrating in his coat pocket just as Deidara put the offending item in his mouth again, only to cough up another storm and for Naruto to laugh. Ignoring the odd tone of the verbal exchange between Naruto and Deidara, seemingly trying to impress the females walking by, Itachi put his phone next to his ear and accepted the call.

"Itachi" A feminine voice hit Itachi's ears. "Karin." Itachi responded, causing Deidara's ears to perk up and stop his interaction with Naruto. This caused Naruto to look over at Itachi as well. "You wouldn't believe me when I say this is purely coincidental, but I'm in the area." Karin said with a seductive tone. "No." was the answer Itachi gave. "As expected, it's always the same with you hun. Anyways that's not why I called, although the offer still stands." Karin continued, pressing her luck. "No." Itachi repeated. At this Deidara started laughing in the background. "Is that Deidara in the back? Why are you with that _thing_." Karin sneered through the phone, which was heard by Deidara. "Filthy witch, she is" Deidara mumbled. "Who are we talking about here?" Naruto asked.

"A woman you don't want to touch with a ten foot pole" Deidara yelled out, making sure his point was sent across. "Tell Deidara to go fuck himself, and that he won't be able to touch this even if he dreams about it". "Charming as always, what's the reason behind your call Karin" Itachi asked. "Well, besides a good fuck, I've got an update for you." Karin stated. "There are actually a couple of things you can do" Karin added. "_Can_ do, or _will_ do?" Itachi asked. "Actually it's personal choice, we weren't set on a fixed price, nor an objective, hence why we couldn't tell you anything at the briefing, we have some 'oddjobs' if you will that you could do in the mean time, it will pay handsomely of course" Karin said. Itachi stayed silent and contemplated his options, extra money on the side never hurt, but really money was the last thing he needed at the moment. Still, it would be a good excuse to kill time, and it would give him the opportunity to actually do something productive. He was never a vacation person to begin with. Itachi started hearing soft keystrokes coming from the other line; she must have been at the office then. "Alright, and is Deidara included in this?" he asked.

"That _thing_ can come if he wants to, and that blonde kid of yours can tag along too, nothing to serious" Karin stated. "How do-"

"Like I said, I was nearby" Karin added. "Exactly how nearby" Itachi asked questionably. A car then stopped near the trio. The rear tinted windows were pulled down to show a rather seductive looking red headed female with plump breasts sitting in the rear seat with a Laptop at hand, and a phone next to her ear. The woman looked about early to mid-20s' range. She was wearing a white formal shirt which was unbuttoned enough to shamelessly show off her developed breasts. Itachi simply ended the call and looked over at Deidara. He had his arms crossed and was looking at the ground rather irritated, but the blush on his cheeks was hard to miss. "Goodbye for now Itachi, and remember, the offer still stands" She stated, then proceeded to run her fingers down her shirt, only for Itachi to hold up his hand for a rejection, and for Deidara to cover Naruto's eyes. "Aww be like that then" Karin said, seductive tone not leaving. The windows pulled up again, and the car started its engine once more. The soft purring of the engine started fading until it was completely gone.

Itachi turned around to see a baffled Naruto and a blushing Deidara. He had to deal with two hassles now.

Suddenly the purring of the engine returned, and Itachi lifted his head to see Karin's car stop by Deidara. The window pulled down for Karin to lean out of the frame. She then spit on Deidara's feet, give him the finger and drive away.

Yeah, he wasn't paid enough for this job, not by a longshot.


	4. 4 - Anbu Deployed

The meetings were always long and tedious; it was a waste of time in Kakashi's eyes. He leaned back on his comfortable leather seat as he gazed down the long, waxed and glossed oak wood table. There were a variety of individuals sporting different facial expressions, all of them either bored like him or way to into it for his own liking. Seriously, how can anyone in their right minds tolerate meetings like these? Let alone enjoy them. There was an extent to how much thumb twiddling he could do before his thumbs broke off.

Of course, these meetings were important to some degree, it was always for 'the betterment of the assignment', according to his superiors, which in actuality was just a "we spoon fed you everything you need to know, now you have no excuse if you fuck up" type of statement, hiding behind formal and polite words.

"With all due respect commander, but is this information accurate?" He heard a young voice somewhere along the right side of the absurdly large meeting table. Kakashi had to hold in a yawn, for he had to deal with his superior's constant bitching about how it was rude to yawn in a meeting. One could say Kakashi hated meetings; today's meeting was no different. These things always repeated what he knew, either that, or it was something he already picked up on prior. Kakashi Hatake was always informed of things, because he was the one that kept all the data in check, specializing in data collection and management for the Anbu had its perks. However, this renders the concept of meetings useless. He doesn't need to be here if he already knows what's going to be said.

It was constant, him zoning in and out like this. It was nothing new; the ones who knew Kakashi knew of his diehard habits during these meetings. He was very punctual and professional during real life scenarios and operations, however when it came down to meetings, he as just kid on a sugar rush it seemed. He needed a distraction. Oh the paintings were nice, they were framed with black oak wood, much like the tables, and hell everything in this room was wood, except for the small stuff like pens and other office necessities. He gazed at the room itself, it had multiple flat screen televisions actually built _into_ the walls to further maximize space, it was a nice touch. It was damn right better than having these televisions actually poking out and falling. And plus, the televisions being built into the walls offered a more luxurious approach to things; it showed that they actually spent good money on the little things.

Yes, this was the extent of how mind numbingly irritated Kakashi was at the moment, thinking this deeply about intricate television sets and themed rooms. Oh but that wasn't all, there were neat little plants that were either on the table itself, or standing alone in a nice little display. Hell if this career ends up not suiting his needs, he might as well be an interior designer. He chuckled at the thought. Kakashi started staring absently at the coffee he was holding, the familiar mermaid or whatever it was looking at him all smug in her green glory. Starbucks had good coffee, but he never really wondered why the logo was what it was.

"-as for the validity of the statement, we're still analyzing it further" Kakashi managed to hear after he tuned out for a good while. Kakashi locked his stormy grey eyes with the crisp green ones of the head of his division, Tsunade Senju. The mature, yet still very perky woman was glaring at Kakashi, as usual.

Now she didn't hate him by any means, hell Kakashi was the top of the top, the best this entire unit has to offer currently, but it didn't mean she couldn't be irritated by him. Truth was, Tsunade personally thought of Kakashi as 'that rookie'. Their relationship was questionable, but a further look into Kakashi's profile would determine that he was anything but a rookie, his performance caused him to receive awards and medals, to which Kakashi always denied receiving for one reason or the other. Some might even say that Tsunade thought of Kakashi as a son.

Still, even with the comfortable grounds he is on with Tsunade, the perky blonde woman's glare was unnerving, it wasn't the usual 'listen carefully, or I'll see to it that I castrate you personally" type of glare; it had some sort of emotion behind it, to which Kakashi, even with his skillful eyes, couldn't read. That was Tsunade for you, always that busty, mysterious, and downright intimidating woman that was respected and feared.

"Hatake." A stern voice boomed out, breaking his thought process. Kakashi looked up to see a building of a man towering over him. The man's glare was far beyond comfortable levels, and the scars on his face made the room cold from fear and intimidation. The man was fit, and was wearing the standard commander outfit, but was covered due to the black, open trench coat he always preferred wearing. Even from here, Kakashi could notice the vast array of rewards and ribbons on right side of the man's inner jacket. He was a walking example of what you could achieve in this division, as Tsunade would put it.

Oddly enough, Kakashi didn't find a ruined face and some shiny medals on his chest exactly that luring or captivating. However, it did work wonders with almost all of the other members in his division, which was baffling. Funny how his co workers felt for some shiny medals, but Kakashi didn't even like his partners anyways. To be truthful, there were only a few members of the Anbu Security division he actually enjoyed working with; everyone else could go fuck off to be put in polite terms. And they got the message alright, most of them feared Kakashi greatly, for his intimidating reputation, and the nickname he earned as the "copycat" in close quarters combat.

"Did you hear anything of what I just said" the man growled out. Kakashi simply stared at the man with an apologetic look. The man growled once more and slammed his fist onto the table in front of Kakashi, causing the rest of the members in the meeting room to jump, excluding Kakashi and Tsunade of course. They were too accustomed to it.

"That's enough Ibiki, you know how he is." Tsunade sighed, rubbing the bride of her nose in an irritated manner. Just then, the doors opened to see a suited man with a grin plastered on his face. Absurdly long white hair was reaching the suited man's lower back as he walked in casually, ignoring the small giggles stifled laughter, and wolf calls coming from the female portion of the meeting room. "Jiraya, how nice of you to join us" Tsunade gritted out.

"But of course my lady, anything for someone as charming as yourself" Jiraya stated with a perverse tone, causing giggles and groans yet again. Ibiki finally stopped glaring at Kakashi and bowed politely to Jiraya. "Good morning Jiraya-sir Ibiki said as he bowed in front of the man.

"Morning' and what's this all about even? I got the call but I was busy with other _delicate_ manners" Jiraya stated while perversely eyeing a group of females, causing them to blush. Kakashi scoffed, _compete morons_. "We were just discussing the course of action we should take concerning the Order of Red Dawn." Ibiki stated, causing the people in the meeting room to return to their serous posture.

"Order of the what?"Jiraya asked. "Ahh well, this is a new development, interesting as it is, it still isn't good news in the least. Ibiki started. "Hatake, pay attention this time, I won't repeat myself, this affects you personally" Ibiki barked out, causing Kakashi to flinch, dropping his coffee all over the table, causing more stifled giggles.

"For fucks sake' Kakashi grumbled out as he ignored the spill, and started watching the large projected image on the wall.

"Recently, the shadow organization that we've familiarized ourselves with as the 'Akatsuki' underwent a recent change of philosophy and sense of judgment. Hence the change in name. " Ibiki stated, causing Kakashi to momentarily tense. Kakashi quickly glanced over to Tsunade to see a sad look acquainting her face. All feelings beforehand quickly dissipated, and Kakashi finally got serious.

"The organization's formation and hierarchy hasn't changed much according to our Echelon division, and they apparently operate in pairs now. However, that isn't why we called all of you here today" Ibiki then clicked on the projector remote to reveal the face of the man that made Kakashi's blood go cold, and his muscles to tense in ways he hadn't even thought possible. Absolute silence hit the room as soon as the image hit the screen.

The only sound that was present was coming from the hum of the projector, it was impossibly quiet. After what appeared to be hours of silence, Ibiki's voice finally came through. "Yuhiko has been reported dead." The temperature of the room felt as if it chilled drastically. Kakashi was left without breath, resulting in him choking for air. Three individuals came up to Kakashi , started patting his back as some of the other individuals in the meeting room had pale, grave faces as they looked at the face on the projector. The rest of them however, had grins and some were actually cheering at the news.

It was the photo of a teenager, even with their vice like grip on satellite imaging, their resources couldn't capture the face of the man today in his current form. The image they had of him was when he was merely 6 years old. Database says that he would have turned 19 next week. The innocent glint in his eyes was too much to bear for some. Kakashi remained standing, causing some looks of confusion and worry directed towards him. Nobody really understood why Kakashi was so addicted to Yahiko to begin with, but nobody questioned it.

However, there _had_ been rumors circulating the division suggesting that it was because of the assignment he had that involved Yahiko years ago that made Kakashi so addicted to him. It was his first and only mission that he had failed, and many people believe that Kakashi was just in denial, and that he felt as if he needed to prove something to this division. Many felt pity for him, only few knew the truth. Kakashi could only laugh at the rumors; he couldn't give a damn about his reputation. He had other reasons.

Tsunade was now staring at Kakashi, but kept her eyes downcast. "So, Yahiko is finally down for the count, is he?" Jiaraya grunted out low, barely above audible level. "It appears so" Ibiki stated.

The happy and smug looks among the members in his division sickened Kakashi to the core, and Jiraya could tell what Kakashi felt truly just by looking at young adult's face. "What's the worry then?" a young male voiced. Everyone turned to the man who was currently standing in pride. "He's finally gone, we spent years going after him, and he's finally gone!" The man stated, applaud ringing out through the meeting room. The standing ovation the man got sickened Kakashi. These grown men and women celebrating like this over an occasion such as death, it was sad.

"The problem _is_ that this information is _twelve_ years late!" Ibiki growled out, causing everyone in the room to go silent. "We've been spending our resources on a ghost for over twelve years." Ibiki growled out. "And to top it all off, the Akatsuki's new leader is yet to be determined. They may not have changed at all" Ibiki growled out in a defeated tone.

"But what of Yahiko's death?" A female asked in genuine concern. "That was confirmed by Anbu Echelon just recently" Ibiki stated causing color to return to a lot of faces. There it goes again, another standing ovation and round of cheers.

Kakashi finally sat down again, a shaky breath entering his lungs. This was sick. That means that Yahiko died when he was merely twelve years old, here he was with people 'trying to make the world a better place', that were celebrating a pre teens death as if it was the best thing since sliced bread. "That was all, you're all dismissed." Ibiki stated quietly, "Kakashi you are to stay here with Jiraya-sama, Tsunade- sama and myself" he added.

Kakashi just sat there and looked at his colleagues, he couldn't stand them. They were so clueless, so simple minded. How could they be this happy, this smug? It irritated him. The sight of them standing up, finishing up their coffees, discussing what they were going to do for the weekend, it made his stomach churn. He could practically taste the bile from the back of his throat.

Moments passed until he strong hand grasped his right shoulder. He looked up to see a solemn looking Jiraya, Tsunade standing there as well, with a similar expression on her face. Ibiki was sitting on the table with an unreadable face, but he looked disturbed none the less. Ibiki pulled out a manila folder, and started running his rough fingers along the edges while staring at the ground deep in thought.

"How are you feeling?" Jiraya asked. Kakashi didn't respond at all, and that was all the answer he needed.

"You're being promoted, the position was long overdue anyways, and we don't really have a reason to hold you back any longer" Jiraya stated softly, causing Kakashi to look up with confusion. "We're not the types to promote you in the field without reason though, there's a catch" he added.

"There's always a catch" Kakashi's voice seemed strangled, damaged, as if he was hit by a train. His throat was constricting, and the palms of his hands were as cold as ice, he couldn't even feel his fingertips, chances where that his usually pale face was even paler at this very moment.

"That there is my boy, but anyways. This meeting was only directed towards you Kakashi" he stated, causing Kakashi to look up at Tsunade in confusion. "This news is twelve years old, and it makes sense that we haven't heard of the Akatsuki in that long, but recent satellite imaging suggest that they may be active once again, even without the leadership of Yahiko." Jiraya's face saddened when he felt Kakashi's body tense.

"You're being promoted to Unit Leader for Anbu Echelon. You and your unit are to find out what the Akatsuki are planning, or the Order of Red Dawn or whatever they're calling themselves now. They might not even be planning anything, but we need you to figure out why they're mobile again. " Jiraya said. "Rumors have it that they're currently at Konohagakure, but that's only a slim chance." Ibiki added. "If the rumors are anywhere near as accurate as the ones involving me and Yahiko, I'd rather sit myself out on this one. I don't like a wild goose chase."Kakashi answered tiredly.

"Trust me, the rumor has some solid ground in it" Ibiki stated, causing Kakashi to groan.

"What makes matters worse is that this tad bit of information is our only lead" Jiraya said. Kakashi looked at Tsunade, and at the way she was fidgeting her hands in an uncharacteristic manner. It was then that he realized Tsunade hadn't spoken to him directly at all yet.

"You're to go to Konohagakure with your team, and find out anything related either under the name of 'Akatsuki' or 'Red Dawn'. All accommodations have been paid for, and all the equipment is in the jet already. Your jet is waiting for you in our personal airstrip, and make sure you ring if you need something." Jiraya said.

"Who am I working with" Kakashi asked. "Tenzou, since you actually enjoy working with him. You have the choice of choosing the next two operatives" Tsunade finally spoke up, her voice rough and jagged.

Kakashi wordlessly got up; forcing Jiraya's grasp on his shoulder to fail, and started walking towards the door.

"Congrats on the promotion kid, although you were always on the list" Jiraya whispered out.

* * *

Kakashi looked over his equipment yet again. He was doing undercover work, but his superiors thought it would be a good idea to make sure Kakashi remembered the basics. He had to undergo crude and useless training, which he had aced none the less. Field tests like shooting, special equipment, surveillance, interrogation, things of that nature. They were currently located in one of the Hangars in their personal airfield. The place itself was crowded with other people, crates, and their jet was in the middle, currently undergoing last minute inspections. The ridged metal walls bore the Anbu Black Ops insignia.

"Kakashi is it supposed to be this tight" Tenzou asked confused, snapping Kakashi out of his daze. Kakashi looked over his shoulder to see Tenzou in a stealth suit, with the official Anbu Echelon arm patch on his right arm. Thermal goggles were attached decently albeit sloppily over his head due to their tight time schedule.

"Yeah it's a new prototype we're trying out, it regulates body heat, and you'll notice that it's a lot thinner. This makes it easier to wear disguises over it. A woman with purple streaked hair stated as she walked next to Tenzou.

"And you must be…"

She grabbed Tenzou's thigh causing him to yelp in surprise. She leaned next to him, and whispered in his ear loud enough for Kakashi to hear. "Anko, the new Defense Expert for your unit" She purred, causing Tenzou to groan at the discomfort in his pants. Tenzou's legs were between hers at this point, as she rested her head on his chest, looking playfully at him.

"Oh, so you're the woman Ibiki warned me about" Kakashi stated, trying a forced smile. He was still shocked with the news; all of this was too sudden. And to be deployed on the same night, he must look like some miracle worker. At least Tenzou had a week's rest beforehand. Although he was thankful for not being in his shoes right about now, judging by the arousal and the tight stealth uniform, they didn't really mix well.

"Oh would you look at that" Anko said in a surprised manner, grabbing Tenzou's arousal in the process, causing the man to yelp in embarrassment, fear and arousal. "Little guy is excited" she stated as she squeezed Tenzou's bulge. Kakashi had to have the strongest willpower in the world to not burst into laughter. He couldn't help it once he saw Tenzou's embarrassed glare directed at him.

"Anko that's enough" Tsunade's voice boomed through the hangar. Anko just laughed and gave a salute as she walked off to tend to other matters, leaving a flushed Tenzou.

"How are you holding up Kakashi?" Tsunade asked with her voice lowered, barely above a whisper. Tenzou looked at them both with a look of understanding; he knew well how Kakashi felt when the news was told. "Coping" Kakashi managed to say with a look of indifference, although the fatigue, confusion and irritation was obvious behind his fake mask of indifference. Tsunade was no fool, so she was easily able to identify Kakashi's emotions.

"You know kid, I wiped your ass when you were little, I could read you easier than Jiraya reading his Icha Icha magazines." Tsunade stated, causing Tenzou to choke in laughter. Kakashi just stared at the ground as he ran his fingers through the mess of silver hair that seemed to defy gravity, the soft threads of hair feeling nice between his fingers. "You don't need to act like what your profile tells you, Kakashi understand that I care for you, as stupid as it may be. You're under my wing, you should drop the tough guy act and be a bit more open" Tsunade growled out.

"So what do I do? Start punching walls and kick over boxes?" Kakashi growled back. Tenzou was stuck with watching these to fight; he was already cowering within moments. Before they knew it, the loud obnoxious buzzing sound indicated that the aircraft was ready to take off, Tenzou looked back at the two to see a rather rare sight. Tsunade was in tears, Kakashi's head on her shoulders, gritting his teeth.

The mother-son display they were showing because some looks of admiration and confusion amongst the crew, only for them to be barked at and ordered to get back to work by Tsunade herself. "Take care" Tsunade said as she clutched the fabric of Kakashi's suit.

Kakashi wordlessly walked away with Tenzou onto the aircraft without a second glance.


	5. 5 - Complications

Authors Note: Thank you to the follows and favorites, and reviews. It was great motivation and kept me thinking during my vacation. It may seem little, but these types of things help me a lot, they're great help.

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The ride was far from boring, quite the contrary actually. It was amusing to see Tenzo struggle with keeping the actual equipment in his hands and not have it shooting across the aircraft. Thanks to heavy turbulence of course. Kakashi sighed contently as he watched the endless mass of water pass by him. They were currently at a lower altitude, the skies were scattered, and some clouds heavy while others broke off into small fluff balls. Regardless, it was enough to see the ocean, and for that Kakashi was thankful.

He looked around, the grey color of metal surrounded him. The aircraft itself was built for cargo, so the entire area was pretty much open. There were some desks, weapon racks, crates and things of that nature scattering different areas. They were placed near the end of the aircraft itself, right next to the huge closed door that allowed all of the cargo to both enter and leave the aircraft. The lights were off, and the only form of illumination they were receiving was from either the numerous computer monitors, or the windows that were placed conveniently along the walls of the plane. The area was illuminated with a brilliant sapphire blue glow thanks to the radar imaging and various other programs on the screens.

He would be lying if he said that he knew where he exactly was currently, the endless amount of water beneath them really messed up his internal navigation system, and the time zones slowly changing rendered Kakashi's wristwatch useless as of right now. Where were they even? They could be in the middle of the Pacific right now and he wouldn't know. It didn't matter though; the change of atmosphere was always welcome.

Especially after the recent news, he needed a break. Even if this was considered a mission, Konohagakure was known for its beaches and fishing spots. Kakashi marveled at the idea, him wearing a fishing vest on a nice and sturdy wooden boat, free from responsibility, being his lazy self. The idea itself sounded too good, sinfully good almost. However, as always, there had to be some type of work involved.

He was broken out of his thoughts when something hit his foot; he looked down to see a hard drive on the floor. Kakashi heard the irritation in Tenzo's voice, "Kakashi could you pass it here" he asked. Kakashi picked up the hard drive and looked at his long time comrade in amusement. "Didn't know you were gifted with butterfingers Tenzo" he mused, causing Tenzo to growl in annoyance. "Just pass it will you" he demanded.

Kakashi chuckled and threw the hard drive to him, surprisingly enough, Tenzo caught it with ease. "So, how's the wife?" Kakashi asked casually. Tenzo only looked at him with a blank expression. "Kakashi, I'm not married." He said flatly. "Ohhh right! And you're still a virgin, how could I have forgotten" Kakashi said with a teasing tone.

"You're an asshole you know that?" Tenzo grumbled. Kakashi could only laugh heartedly. "Seriously though, you should really make a move on her" Kakashi said with a casual tone. Yamato only stiffened; Kakashi did not miss the blush Tenzo had for a quick moment. "And who would that be?" Tenzo asked sarcastically.

"Oh please, I notice the looks you give Shizune" Kakashi sing songed, causing Tenzo to stutter like a mad man. "It's not like that!" Tenzo yelled. "Oh so it's not your erection that stands at attention whenever she bends over that desk of hers? My mistake" Kakashi added. Tenzo growled and threw a book at Kakashi, only for the aircraft to make a sharp movement downwards, causing the book to fly back at Tenzo's face.

"It's not just that you know" Tenzo stated while rubbing the bridge of his nose, causing Kakashi to sit up straight. "So you admit to having a romantic interest in her?" Kakashi asked in genuine curiosity. "Well I don't know, I mean come on Kakashi, both of us are like in our late twenties, both single, dedicated in a life of secrecy and conspiracy-"

"The only difference is that you're still a virgin" Kakashi said again, causing Tenzo to grumble. "That's not the only thing important in the world Kakashi, I can think of hundreds of things more important than sexual relief" Tenzo growled. "Relax; I'm just pulling your leg." Kakashi said with his visible eye in a high arc. "But you just admit that you're sexually frustrated" Kakashi said, causing Tenzo to yell out in frustration.

"Oh come on Tenzo, don't be like that, You knew me for how long? I can help you out if you need me" Kakashi sing songed. Tenzo blushed heavily and hid his face from Kakashi. "That blush on your cheeks makes your face looks cute, and you're normally delectable looking" Kakashi teased playfully, causing Tenzo to bite his tongue in irritation. After a few moments of silence, Kakashi finally spoke up.

"You're not actually considering my offer are you" Kakashi asked with an amused tone, causing Tenzo to sputter, "W-what?! N-no! You're such a pervert!" Tenzo yelled out. "It's not my fault your erection is set for blast off" Kakashi said casually pointing to Tenzo's erection. "YOU'RE SO INFURIATING!" Tenzo screamed out for the umpteenth time that day.

"No but seriously, what does Shizune have that interest you that much?" Kakashi asked seriously, Tenzo finally sat down next to him and looked at his comrade. Kakashi's stormy grey eye, and his blood red eye was intimidating for many, but for Tenzo he was more than used to it. He had grown respect for the man beside him throughout their careers, he learned that if there was anyone trustworthy in this world, Kakashi would be the best candidate. "W-well, I mean, she's like a sister" Tenzo said as he started scratching the back of his head. "Oh so you're into incest?" Kakashi asked casually, causing Tenzo to sputter and fall back. "NO, G-GODAMNIT KAKASHI", Kakashi only laughed. "Okay, so she's nice to you, and she cares about you, what else?" Kakashi added.

Tenzo slowly got up and sat on his char as he thought about it some more. "Well she's not a bad looker, and the short hair of hers is cute in my opinion" Tenzo said thoughtfully. "And honestly Kakashi, she knows what we do, what we try to hide from people outside of Anbu. Have you ever thought about explaining to your future wife what you did here?" Tenzo asked with a sense of emotion. "Can't say that I have, but I get what you mean" Kakashi added.

"I don't know, she's amazing to be around." Tenzo added. "What about you Kakashi, anyone of interest?" Kakashi looked thoughtful, "not really" he added. "Oh come on, there has to be someone, I've known you for a while, why don't you ever think about settling down, at least temporarily" Tenzo added. "Not really my style I guess, I don't like being chained down by responsibilities either" Kakashi stated. "So you don't plan on marrying or even having a relationship?" Tenzo asked with wonder.

"No not really, and besides, not many are that crazy about me" Kakashi added. "You can't be serious" Tenzo said sarcastically. "What?" Kakashi asked with genuine curiosity. "Nobody made a move on me yet" Kakashi added. "But you're such a good looking guy, hasn't there been anyone that flirts with you, or even looks at you differently?" Tenzo asked curiously. "Well besides you, not really no." Kakashi teased, causing Tenzo to blush and punch him in the gut.

Kakashi couldn't help but laugh at the spectacle, but both of their antics were short lived when the intercom hit the speakers of the cargo plane. The heavily distorted voice of the pilot was hard to understand but Kakashi managed to hear out the words 'Unknown' and 'F-16" in the pilots frantic voice. Even under the immense amounts of static, both of them noted the frantic tone. Just then the sound of a blaring red alarm hit the entire aircraft.

"Tenzo quickly, pack our bags with all of the necessities" Kakashi quickly demanded. Tenzo nodded in understanding as he ran around frantically to get the last of their belongings. Tenzo started filling their military grade gym bags with things like binoculars, ammunition, maps, food items and things of that nature, not really caring about the weight of it all, they would manage. The aircraft had a crew of merely six, including Kakashi and Tenzo. The others were nowhere to be seen, most likely further down the large aircraft. Kakashi was near the computers that were bolted along the walls of the aircraft, his eyes determined to find the cause of the problem. Kakashi started switching tabs, changing views until he finally found the flight course map. He noted that there were two unidentified aircraft approaching them at almost double the speed of their current aircraft.

Kakashi looked back at Tenzo who noted the screens as well. He had the look of worry, but determination written on his face. Kakashi looked back at the screen and noted two key things. First was that they were successfully beyond the waters and were now soaring above land, making escape very much possible. The second thing he noticed was that the aircraft that were tailing them were now directly on either side of the aircraft.

A foreign and heavily accented voice hit the intercom just then, causing both of their ears to perk up. Kakashi quickly looked out the window to see a fighter jet, what appeared to be a F-16 just as the pilot had said, flying right next to the wing of their own aircraft. The insignia was familiar, but Kakashi couldn't quite make out where it was from. The rapid rates of their hearts were hard to miss in the intervals of silence that ensued. The sound of the blaring alarm drowned out when they heard it.

"You are now flying above the Rain territory, state your business here" the rough voice said under an immense amount of static.

Kakashi was relieved that it was the country of Rain that issued the in-air interrogation, he was also thankful for the 'ask before blowing the fuck out of' policy they apparently had.

Kakashi quickly walked over to the computer screens and picked up the microphone to the intercom. "Anbu Echelon, Unit 7, Hatake Kakashi, under the protection of Senju Tsunade and Anbu Private Military Company, reference is T-4-8-8-5-G-O-FOXHOUND-7-7-8-1 " Kakashi stated over the microphone. There were a few moments of silence at first. The moments of silence turned into minutes of silent agony. The atmosphere had suddenly tensed as he looked back over at Tenzo, who was now carrying both bags over his shoulders and two parachutes were stationed next to his feet. Kakashi noted that Tenzo indeed did a good job of horridly packing, for the bags were full.

"This is Maybach-5, your identity has been confirmed, your claims are accurate and your identification is valid" The voice replied. Tenzo let out a relieved sigh only for it to be short lived when the voice came on the microphone again. "Unit 7, you are to land immediately at Amegakure Airstrip for interrogation and questioning, you have exactly five minutes to respond before we are authorized to take silence as a refusal and have full authority to use deadly force" the voice boomed over.

Tenzo yelped in surprise as Kakashi couldn't help but fall to the chair next to him because his knees gave in. "What the fuck" Kakashi growled. "Get Tsunade on the line, NOW" Kakashi yelled at Tenzo. Tenzo nodded frantically as he quickly pulled out a laptop from his bag and started typing quickly on the keyboard. The frantic sound of keys being pressed didn't sit well with Kakashi, it actually unnerved him. He looked out his window again to see that one of the F-16 fighter jets were still flying next to the aircraft, the midnight glow and sudden inclement weather made Kakashi growl in annoyance.

"Y-yeah Tsunade, K-Kakashi wants to talk!" Tenzo practically barked at the laptop. He quickly got up and ran over to Kakashi, giving him the laptop, almost tripping on his own two feet. Kakashi grunted in thanks and set the computer on his lap as he looked at the screen. There was a video steam of Tsunade in her formal head of division suit, as well as Jiraya in his. "Tsunade, what the fuck is Rain wanting with us" Kakashi growled out in annoyance. Kakashi registered the surprised look on Tsunade's face, as well as Jiraya's. "What do you mean? What's happening" Tsunade asked with concern. "Well for starters, we're being sandwiched by two fighter jets belonging to our nation's rival superpower" Kakashi gritted out. "And they're not letting us pass through their borders" Tenzo added.

Tsuande's worried look was unnerving to the both of them; Jiraya had a stone cold face which was unreadable. "Did anyone respond after the warning was issued" Tsunade asked, looking hopeful, and almost guilty. _What the hell_. "Are you hiding something from us Tsuande" Kakashi gritted out. The look of guilt increased two fold, but was still very well hidden. "I didn't expect them to be this quick about it, very well then, seeing that I have no other choice." Tsunade said in a defeated tone. "Tsunade, what the _hell_ are you talking about" Kakashi gritted out.

"I've just issued the command for the pilot to answer to Rain's demands, silence will be a virtue as of right now" Tsunade replied, causing both Kakashi and Tenzo to yell out in frustration. "What the hell Tsunade, they're going to blow us out of the skies, we know how Rain functions, and they don't make empty promises!" Kakashi yelled at her. "If you would let me finish" Tsunade said quietly, causing both of them to calm down a bit.

"You won't be charged nor executed, because you are hereby declared rogue. Kakashi and Tenzo are hereby missing from both the Pentagon's files as well as ours." Tsunade said with a hard glare. Both men knew what she was implying; this would be the end of their careers, at least temporarily. They couldn't help but stay silent for a few moments; this was hard news to swallow. They were going to escape this flight, and proceed with the mission, except with no official help from Tsunade and the rest of their outfit. They were going to be classified as missing soldiers, and chances were that the rest of Anbu wouldn't be notified of the details. Kakashi looked over at Tenzo with a saddened face, Tenzo himself was looking down at the ground, fists clenched, he was shaking either in anger, or sadness, he didn't know.

"Why can't we resolve this legally, by landing?" Kakashi asked Tsunade. Tsunade said nothing, but Jiraya decided to finally speak up. "That's because of the current _problems _we've been having with Rain." Jiraya said. "Oh and what type of problems would that be" Kakashi growled out. "That's classified, and labeled as security level red, only the boys up at the pentagon have clearance." Jiraya added.

"Oh? And you expect me to believe that you know nothing?" Kakashi gritted out. "Believe it or not, you have no other option but to follow Tsunade's wishes. If you land now, you won't last a second in Rain. They're going to execute you like animals, and that's out of the Pentagon's jurisdiction because of the Mercenary Act that was passed a few hours ago."

"Jiraya it sounds like they planned this entire thing out" Kakashi barked. "What happens to us now?" Tenzo asked quietly. "Well, you're still under my command, not officially of course. You'll be classified as missing and rogue, or dead. It all depends on how bad they hit you in these last few moments." Tsunade stated coldly. "Kakashi, Tenzo, I'm sorry" Tsunade said as she kept her eyes downcast. "You need to find out more about the Akatsuki, the potential of this mission alone exceeds the value of my own life, please don't hold anything against me, I didn't want to end it like this."

Kakashi stared at the screen coldly. Tenzo firmly gripped his shoulder, but neither of the men turned their attention away from the screen.

The sounds of heavy gunfire ripped through the air outside of the aircraft, a sudden jerk indicated that the plane itself took a hard bank to the left trying to avoid the gunfire. "Listen, the pilot is going to try his best to land you as close to Konohagakure as possible, once you're outside of Rain's borders, they won't be able to touch you, but flying there now is not a possibility. Wherever you land is where you must survive. Do not contact us until you're out of Rain's borders."

"Right." Tenzo whispered. "Best of luck to you two" Jiraya grunted out. Just then the cargo doors opened, and the green light blinked. The indicators went full blast, and now was the time for them to jump out and make the best out of this unforeseeable turn of events.

Kakashi stood up and grabbed his parachute; they both turned to the cargo door that was no opening to face the bitter cold of Rain Country. The rain hitting their face gave them a sudden rush of realization; the rain itself felt like needles, the bitterness of the situation hitting their psyche pretty hard.

"Do we have everything?" Kakashi asked calmly. "Yes, I even managed to fit a few weapons in for safe measure, nothing too large of course, except for one sniper rifle." Tenzo added. Kakashi looked at him with a slacked jaw. "Including standardized ammunition for all weapons as well as non-lethal rounds, food is included" Tenzo added. "How the hell did you manage to fit all of that in these two bags, I know they're heavy but that's just-, oh forget it. I'm glad I told you to pack when we did"

"Ready when you are" Tenzo stated. "Right" Kakashi nodded. They both ran towards the opening of the door and jumped out; abandoning their careers and the lives they once knew. Their sole objective now was to survive.

Yamato threw over the bag first, making sure to keep track of it as both men fell through the night time sky. There was an explosion from behind them, enough to send a wave of heat towards them; no doubt it was their aircraft. They were officially alone now.


	6. 6 - A new addition

Kakashi slowly got up, clutching the side of his torso. He was breathing heavily, and couldn't help but wince in pain. The landing wasn't exactly graceful, surely if he had known he was going to be shot down from old rivals, he would have prepared beforehand. The soft whistling sound in his throat hadn't seemed too great either. He felt like he was hit by a truck, but considering the fact that he fell over a thousand feet and was in the state he was currently in, hell he was lucky. Surely it was worth a few rounds at the bar to celebrate; yeah he was looking forward to that.

Hell, falling a thousand feet and surviving should be considered a milestone in his career.

He breathed heavily, trying to calm his racing heart. Trying to regulate the sharp inhales he was taking, he gazed up to see the other worldly glow of the moon, which was blanketing the ground below generously with a brilliant ethereal glow. The rain had calmed, and now was nothing more than a light drizzle. The temperatures were near freezing, but not quite. Even with his uniform on, the slow movements of his jaw, and the numbness that had corroded his hands from within made it clear that the temperature here was no joking matter. He could taste metal from the back of his throat, but he wasn't bleeding, that worried him.

The smell of forestry hit his nostrils, a surprise they were still functional at that. The soft mud below his feet made the impact a lot more tolerable, and for that, he was thankful. It was one hell of a fall. The moon didn't have enough ability to fully illuminate the land, but he could still make out where the ground was, and for him that was good enough.

Kakashi started moving his feet, slowly lifting his right leg first only to falter slightly. He regained his balance and made his way over to the body that lay before him. He looked up to see the broken branches of trees, not really expecting anything too different. Yamato was forced to use the same youthful entry as Kakashi. Thanks to the moon's glow, he could make out the soft rhythmic rising and decline of Tenzo's chest, indicating that yes, he was indeed alive.

Kakashi was startled by the cough that escaped Tenzo's throat. It was wet, rugged and by no means did it sound normal. Worried, Kakashi limped faster to Tenzo, clutching his sides tighter and ignoring the pain that invaded the insides of his ankles and left portion of his torso. The sounds of the forest eased him a bit, but it didn't help the tension quite as much as he wished.

There the cough was again, Kakashi now noticed the unmistakable crimson liquid that was glimmering in the moonlight. It leaked down Tenzo's jaw line as some entered his ears, the rest trailing down to his neck, or onto the soft ground below. Something in Kakashi's heart clenched, it was painful to see his friend in such a predicament. He's seen death before, dealt with it, delivered it, but it didn't mean he accepted it.

Right now, it seemed as if his partner was on the verge of dying, and Kakashi would have none of that.

"K-k-" Tenzo struggled, but coughed violently afterwards, more blood leaving his body as he did so. The wince of pain that escaped Tenzo's throat had made Kakashi stop his advances as he looked more carefully at him. Now that he was close enough, he noticed that he was clutching onto the bag that they had thrown off of the flight, surprisingly intact and unharmed.

Kakashi stepped closer to Tenzo slowly, taking each step as fast as he can, but making sure to keep his balance and keep a stable stride. When he was just a few steps away, his ankle gave out, and the sickening snap was easily identifiable. Kakashi gritted teeth in pain as he shut his eyes tightly. He was on his side; the impact winded him and hit him directly on his damaged ribs.

Tenzo laid there looking tiredly at Kakashi with half opened eyes, he had turned his head when he heard the snap, and was now fighting a mental battle to keep conscience. He looked at Kakashi's face; the look of pain was unmistakable.

"W-we really fucked up didn't we" Tenzo managed to choke out painfully, clutching his chest while he looked over at Kakashi tiredly. Kakashi went through a few facial expressions. Anger finally set as he turned his head to look at Tenzo.

"No, they fucked up" Kakashi spat with venom dripping from his voice. In reality, Kakashi's words held strong truth. "I didn't sign up to be blown out of the fucking sky like some firework" he added as he clutched his ribs.

The soft hum of thunder hit both of their ears as the wind slowly picked up, causing a variety of leaves to scatter. Kakashi analyzed the wounds on Tenzo's body. It was clear that he suffered from shrapnel wounds, nothing too serious, but it would surely leave scars.

Tenzo chuckled painfully, causing questionable looks from Kakashi.

"Should I even bother asking?"

Tenzo hummed to reply, almost as if he was content.

"You sound like you're enjoying this" Kakashi asked with a sarcastic tone. Tenzo could only chuckle softly at that, Kakashi's temper and sarcasm never failed to show, even in the most dangerous of situations, this being an example.

"Oh I am" Tenzo said as he coughed softly.

"And, what in god's name is compelling you to feel that way" Kakashi asked in genuine curiosity.

"Oh all sorts of things really but something in particular" Tenzo said with a pained chuckle.

"Oh?" Kakashi asked as he sat upright, wincing in pain. "You're going to have to hold onto that thought" he added as he scooted closer to Yamato.

Kakashi took the bag from Yamato's hands and started opening it slowly. The military grade material feeling thick and weighed against his fingertips. "I'm assuming you packed medical supplies?" Kakashi asked, to which Tenzo hummed softly.

Kakashi rummaged through the variety of things, Tenzo wasn't kidding when he said he finished packing. This was more than enough for the two of them. He went through a variety of different things, ammunition, rations, a laptop, loose bullets and a few maps were just some of the small things. Yamato, when put in simple terms, was an excellent packer. He wasn't even lying about the sniper rifle; it was taken apart pretty well, offering the ability for it to be crammed into a bag to begin with. The only issue now was actually carrying it. Kakashi tried picking it up with both of his hands, which he was able to do, but the weight would have surely slowed them down, and technically speaking, he couldn't just sort out the necessities. Hell the entire bag was full of necessities. He tried picking it up again, he could do it, but barely. Dragging it and leaving a trail wasn't an option either.

He sighed in frustration. Yamato coughed again which snapped Kakashi out of his thoughts and focus on the task at hand. After rummaging through a bit more, he was able to find a small black satchel with a medical cross on it.

Kakashi looked at Yamato confused, "This isn't the medical kit" he said which made Tenzo growl. "Guess you took the wrong one." Tenzo looked at him frustrated. "Trust me, that was all there was" Tenzo stated angrily. Kakashi sighed and opened the satchel. To his surprise, there were four empty syringes on one of the flaps, and four syringes full of some foreign liquid on the other. There weren't any bandages, or stitches, or even painkillers. What type of medical kit was this?

Kakashi held the satchel closer to him to inspect the fluid. Three of the syringes had the exact same liquid; the last one however seemed a lot more potent than the rest. It almost had a metallic gleam to it. Kakashi was an expert in distinguishing different drugs, but he had absolutely no idea what were in these needles. There wasn't a label present at all.

"Tenzo you got a minute?" Kakashi asked, already knowing the answer.

He looked over at Yamato which was losing the battle to stay conscience. His eyes were almost fully closed and his breathing had slowed dangerously. Kakashi quickly searched the satchel with hopes that some form of medication that he recognized would present itself miraculously, only to find a note. Kakashi unfolded the crumpled sheet of paper to find a complicated signature written in purple pen, it was heavily scented, and he could have sworn he recognized it. It wasn't by any means an offending smell, it smelled of spice and some form of flower.

Kakashi tried deciphering the signature, after a few seconds he was able to identify it was indeed Anko's, and the sheet of paper came from her. There was even a little heart on top of the mess of scribbles. He turned the note over to find some writing.

"_If you need a second chance, these are here. Thank me later"_

Not really having another option, Kakashi took one of the mysterious syringes and stabbed Tenzo in the thigh with it, causing him to yelp in his nearly unconscious state. A brief explanation would have done the trick, leave it to the mysterious woman to be in charge of their supplies.

"Ka-uah-Kakashi wha-" Tenzo babbled under his breath. "Relax Tenzo, I have no idea what I'm doing, but I want you to trust me"

Tenzo groaned in distaste but let Kakashi do his thing. There wasn't any other option that presented itself, so Tenzo was forced to trust his partner's judgment. Kakashi slowly pushed the button on the syringe, releasing the fluid into Tenzo's circulatory system. Within seconds, Tenzo eyes rolled back and the soft breathing halted completely.

Kakashi widened his eyes in horror as Tenzo lay still in his arms, but before he could even think properly, Tenzo opened his eyes with such force, it caused Kakashi to flinch back. Tenzo rolled over, seemingly forgetting his injuries and started coughing, but to Kakashi's surprise, there was no blood, only concentrated saliva.

He would have sighed in relief, except the regurgitating sounds that Tenzo was making was really starting to worry him. Tenzo spat out some metal pieces, which made Kakashi stare wide eyed at Tenzo. The open wounds that Tenzo had littered all over his body had now stopped bleeding.

"Back from the dead are we?"Kakashi asked teasingly. He got a grunt in response, which worried him. "Are you alright?" Kakashi asked worriedly.

Tenzo glared at Kakashi. "Well I just got stabbed by something from god knows where, I'm coughing up metal pieces that were in me, so yeah, fucking peachy" Tenzo growled, causing Kakashi to smile fondly.

"At least you're not dead" Kakashi added. Tenzo shot him a glare.

* * *

Itachi sat silently, opting to not include himself in the conversation. Him, Deidara and Naruto were currently at a late night restaurant, and decided on coming here mere moments ago. Yet, Naruto and Deidara still managed to talk to each other as if they knew each other for their entire lives. It was surprising really, how easily they let Naruto into their lives.

Itachi looked at the window next to him, he was bothered. He had a feeling something had gone wrong, or something bad was awaiting confrontation. The more he thought about it, the sketchier this entire operation had become in his head. He was a man with the mind of a genius, he was constantly thinking, his mind was his most trustworthy asset.

No matter how hard he reasoned with himself, he still could not understand why they would be deployed without any sole reason. It's been around a day or two and still no information on their primary objective. Truthfully, Itachi was a very patient man, but with all that had happened, and the evolution of the Akatsuki, he didn't feel like trusting anyone out of his comfort zone. There were only a few people in his comfort zone to begin with. Naruto? Well that was a hard one.

Did he trust Naruto? It was foolish, but Itachi was no liar. He would never lie to someone else; he would never dare lie to himself. Even though it was the pure definition of childish, immature, unreasonable, pathetic, unthinkable and god knows how many other words In the English dictionary that described his situation right now, he couldn't help but feel warm towards the boy. He didn't know much about him, and yet he still trusted him to an extent.

A happy voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked to the left to see Naruto and Deidara chatting with a female waitress. Deidara turned his head and looked at Itachi.

"What do you want to eat?" Deidara asked. Itachi thought for a moment, he didn't need to look at the menu because he wasn't really that hungry, however he supposed having a meal wouldn't be all that bad. "I'll just have a serving of one of your salads, Caesar preferably, thank you. "Itachi replied.

"Y-yes of course!" replied the blushing waitress, causing Deidara to wink at him and Naruto to elbow him in the ribs. He scoffed at them both. "We'll both be having a serving of cheese steak, well-done for both" Deidara stated.

After a few moments, Naruto looked at Itachi as if he was crazy, as well as Deidara. Itachi decided to play dumb, "What?" he asked innocently.

"She totally wanted you!" Naruto practically screamed out. Itachi could have sworn she heard someone faint from behind him. He looked behind him to see indeed the female waitress was in distress, one of her coworkers trying frantically to fan her. "Come on Itachi what's the big deal, you need to get laid eventually" Deidara said casually, earning him a kick in the shin from under the table. Itachi glared at him while Naruto looked dumbfounded.

"You never been with a girl yet?" Naruto asked in wonder. "But how?" he added.

"How what" Itachi asked irritated. Deidara laughed. "Think the kid's implying that you got a fine ass" Deidara said, causing Itachi to cough violently and Naruto to nearly choke on his air.

"You're an asshole, no, I meant like. Well kinda, godamnit." Naruto said, thinking for a moment while scratching the back of his head. "You're kinda like, that badass type of figure, something all the girls go head over heels for y'know?"

Itachi remained silent as Deidara listened to Naruto with interest.

"And like, usually that would be a bad thing, they're usually assholes. But you're different, like even though I only met you recently, you're actually pretty awesome and I'm happy I met you, so I kinda thought you're like this with everyone, which would have gotten you a girlfriend or something already I guess, I don't know guys, I'm rambling" Naruto said sheepishly.

Itachi felt something tugging at his heart, he genuinely felt warmer when he was around the blonde haired brat, and now he felt a lot more at ease than he was before. "It's also kinda cute how you're so sensitive" Naruto added casually. "Kinda like a wife"

Deidara choked on his laughter while Itachi looked dumbfounded.

The raven haired male didn't find the heart to say anything, he felt different spending time with Deidara outside of work, and with Naruto, the little brat brightened his day, he couldn't deny that fact. It was always tiring and there was no expectations before Naruto came in the picture, it's only been around two days, be he genuinely felt that he can mold a form of friendship with Naruto and Deidara. It's funny how things worked really. It sure as hell made the job a lot more interesting.

"Turn it up!" A gruff voice from behind Itachi said. Itachi noticed that Deidara was looking rather confused and focused across from him, which was a rare sight to say the least. Itachi turned his head to see Naruto looking over at the commotion as well. Itachi gave in and decided to take a glance.

What he saw was a small group of people; around three to four huddled over a television mounted on the wall. The TV wasn't too small, but it wasn't exactly a home theatre. Itachi was able to look at the program pretty easily however.

It was on the news, apparently there were reports of an explosion over borders of Rain Country, and apparently it was a passenger plane that suffered from a malfunction. According to the report, the explosion happened nearly two to three hours ago. It astonished Itachi how quickly things like this could be on the news.

A live video steam was then shown on the television. There were large amounts of pitch black smoke coming from an area with heavy flames. It was no surprise that most of the footage have been deliberately angled to show a small section of either the smoke or the land around it, not the actual aircraft itself.

It was only a second, a mere slip up, nobody could have possibly noticed it, but Itachi caught it immediately. The familiar emblem of a talon holding a flame was seen on the broken tail of the aircraft. Itachi breathed deeply and looked at Deidara which hadn't caught anything.

Itachi quickly looked at Naruto seeing that he was too preoccupied with the news report to watch what he was doing. Itachi grabbed his phone from his pocket and started texting the male across from him, making sure Naruto couldn't see.

_That was an Anbu Aircraft_

Deidara felt a vibration in his coat pocket, and rummaged through it to find his phone. He swiped the screen to unlock it and read a text. Itachi sat there carefully studying Deidara's facial expressions. His heart was beating slightly faster at the news, this was a serious matter.

It surprised him when Deidara ended up giggling and typing back. He heard a phone beep from the table and noticed it was Naruto's. The blonde headed teen picked up his phone and laughed at the text, texting back.

_Unbelievable _Itachi thought. Where they talking about him? Why did he feel odd? For fucks sake he wasn't sensitive. Itachi couldn't take it anymore, he grabbed Deidara's shoulder and looked him directly in the eye. "That was an Anbu aircraft!" he gritted out, causing Deidara to look at him with surprise.

Naruto looked over at both of them questionably. Deidara looked surprised but then scoffed. "Took them long enough" he said as Itachi let go of his shoulder. "You're not in the least bit worried?" Itachi shot back at Deidara.

He laughed at the look Itachi was giving him. 'Itachi relax, it took them years, and look!" he exclaimed as he pointed at the television. "They didn't even make it! Relax will you?" he added.

Itachi looked unconvinced. "Whatever happened, they're probably going to deal with that for the time being, and as for them finishing with that little issue, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it" Deidara said reassuringly.

Naruto was silent, but the confusion on his face was easily identifiable. "Business matters" Deidara said as he smiled. "Don't you worry about that" he added, causing Naruto to nod and smile in response.

* * *

After their meals they started heading back to the apartment. The walk was far from quiet. Deidara and Naruto were cracking jokes as Itachi was behind them contemplating the recent turn of events. If Anbu was on their tail after this long, it meant that they finally knew about the change in the Akatsuki. His hands were deep in his pockets as his raven black hair flew freely with the direction of the wind. His breath was making trails due to the temperature.

Itachi couldn't help but admire the sight in front of him. Deidara was head-locking Naruto, both of them laughing, the joy on both their faces made Itachi smile. Deidara was a lot like Itachi in a sense. He didn't have a family to grow up to. However, Itachi's situation and Deidara's situation varied substantially. Itachi pushed the dark thoughts away from his head as he looked at the ground. The concrete tiles slowly passing by.

Within a few minutes they had reached Itachi's apartment. Naruto yawned as he looked at the both of them. "It's been real fun guys, but I should probably head back" he said, smile not leaving his face. "Itachi said you live in an orphanage and can leave whenever you want?" Deidara asked with curiosity. "Heh, yeah. They don't really care either way" Naruto replied thoughtfully.

The idea of letting Naruto back into that hell wasn't sitting well with Itachi, and by the look Deidara was giving, he was feeling the exact same thing. "I don't want to sound like a pedophile here, but I mean if you want to chill with us you can." Deidara said, while Itachi nodded in agreement. "And we're not exactly that much different in the age category so it wouldn't be awkward" he added. "I mean living here would be a lot better than whatever the fuck you call that place anyways" Deidara stated.

Naruto smiled "If it's not a bother-"

"Trust me Naruto. It's not a bother." Itachi cut in, causing a grin to plaster on both of the blondes faces. Itachi sighed; they were going to be a handful, but Itachi liked dealing with these two idiots.

"Now as for sleeping arrangements" Itachi said as he started walking, causing the both of them to follow. "I don't really suppose one person having the bed would be fair, so none of us will sleep on the bed" Itachi said, causing nods of agreement.

"I call the couch" Deidara stated causing Naruto to curse. "Then I suppose Naruto and I will sleep on the floor" Itachi stated. Deidara smirked as Naruto started babbling about his luck. Itachi turned the key to his apartment and opened the door to let the two blondes inside first. "Might as well get some shut eye, it's like three in the morning" Deidara stated as he walked into the living room.

"Easy for you to say asshole, we're sleeping on the floor" Naruto mumbled, causing a smirk from Deidara. "You're more than welcome to share" Deidara mocked seductively and began to lie on the couch. "Well don't mind if I do" Naruto yelled out as he began to run head first at t he couch.

"WAIT WAIT WAI-"Deidara managed to scream out before getting rammed stomach first by Naruto. The both of them curled up in pain and laughter. "You two are going to break the couch" Itachi's irritated voice rang out through the bedroom. Once their laughter died out to soft giggled, Itachi entered with blankets.

The raven haired male noticed that Deidara was lying on the couch on his side while Naruto was lying on the floor with his elbow supporting his head, talking freely with Deidara. Itachi felt warm at the sight, and threw over the blankets over to Deidara and Naruto. "Thank you mother" was the response he got from the both of them. Itachi glared but the smile was hard to resist. "Goodnight" he responded, as he made a spot next to the television.


End file.
